Start Again
by J.4.5.M.1.N.3
Summary: When an international branch for a charity, that Frank and Stella support, has announced that their branch will be shutting down, will the two agents be able to save it in time? Frella one-shot (duh!) EMERGENCY AUTHOR'S NOTE IN CHAPTER 2! IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE ONE-SHOT, PLEASE AT LEAST READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE. Thanks everyone xx
1. Start Again

**Hey guys. So this… Actually, just read this one-shot then the author's note in the next chapter. Please read and review as it's… Nope, you guys are gonna have to wait. And even if you don't want to read this one-shot, please read the author's note in the next 'chapter'. Thanks guys. Also, Frank and Stella are very OOC, and I'm sorry for that, but I hope you enjoy anyway :)**

 **Jasmine xoxo**

 _Caller ID: Stella Knight_

Why was Stella calling him at this time on a Friday night? In fact, why was _anybody_ calling him at this time on a Friday night? It's finally the weekend, so why couldn't she just call him in the morning instead of at 10:00pm? Frank thought that it must be incredibly important for her to call at that time. He reluctantly picked up his phone from his wooden bedside table and answered, rubbing his eyes. He had already had a rough week; his body clock was recalculating and his sleeping hours changed dramatically from 11-6 to 9-3. Feeling quite annoyed with Stella, he asked her why she was calling at that time at night.

"I'm sorry, Frank, but this is urgent." Frank understood. It must've been quite an important mission. Hesitating, he slapped himself across the face multiple time, attempting to wake himself up. He blinked a few times, the pain dulling down as the time passed.

"Frank? Frank, are you okay? I heard a sudden noise." Frank chuckled; trust Stella to be worried about him. He still loved her with all of his heart, but he had to keep a professional mindset. His job couldn't be affected because he had feelings for his boss.

"Yeah, everything's fine, Stella. I was just slapping myself across the face. No big deal," he replied. He counted in his head. 3…2…1…

"No big deal? Why on _earth_ were you slapping yourself?" Frank stifled back a laugh, slowing sitting up in his King Single.

"Because you called me at a late time and I was trying to wake myself up, that's why."

"Oh, well I'm glad that nothing bad has happened there. I wish the same could be said here…" Frank frowned; something must be really wrong.

"Oh, what's the mission? Is everything okay?"

"What? Oh no, nothing like that. I've just received some news about the UK branch for PMH. If they don't receive more funding, they're going to shut down the international branch altogether." Frank gasped. PMH (Princess Margaret Hospital) is the most famous children's hospital in Australia located in the city of Perth. It's a charity that both he and Stella support, and he was shocked when she told him that they might lose funding.

"That's not good! All of the children in Perth rely on that hospital! They need all of the money they can get! Have you got any ideas for a fundraiser?" He asked her.

"I've got one, but it's not very good…" She trailed off, mumbling to herself. Frank knew she always did that when she was thinking aloud.

"Stella, just tell me what it is."

"Fine. I was thinking we like hold a talent show, you know, so people can express themselves while also raising money for a worth-while cause." Silence came from Frank's end of the line.

"I know, it's a pretty stupid idea. I'll try and come up with some more idea – " Frank stopped her mid-sentence, rolling his eyes.

"Stella, it's brilliant, stop being so modest about everything." Frank heard her chuckle through the line. Oh, how he missed her laugh.

"Thanks, Frank. We can meet up tomorrow morning at 7ish in my office to start brainstorming if you want?" Frank thought he heart might throw up. He knew it wasn't a date or whatever, but he was still excited.

"Yeah! I mean uh, yeah, that sounds great. See you tomorrow, Stella."

"Bye, Frank. And thanks again." He placed his phone back on his bedside table and slid into his sheets and duvet, thinking about what just happened. Stella had asked him to meet with her, and it wasn't for an M.I.9 meeting at all! He gently closed his eyes, trying to shake all of those thoughts out of his head, because he _knew_ that there was a strict relationships protocol, and even if that was gone, he probably wasn't allowed to date his boss.

Every time he tried to think of an idea that he could contribute to the cause, he couldn't get her out of his head. And with that, he fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

The coffee machine was bursting with an ear-piercing sound that had been going off for five minutes. Frank had rushed into the kitchen to turn it off, pants on backwards and a pair of odd socks covered his feet. His shirt was buttoned up wrong and his hair was a mess. He checked his watch, panicking when he realised that it was 6:45am. Now he didn't even have time to eat his toast, not that he wanted to anyway; it was burnt.

Frank rushed into his bedroom next door and hurriedly threw on his shoes. He grabbed the comb from his bedside table, parted his hair, brushed it out and then threw it into his bed as he rushed to grab his coffee. He gulped it down, only to realise that it was burning his throat. Screaming at the top of his lungs, the middle-aged man tried to find something cold to shove into his mouth. He opened the freezer and grabbed a handful of ice from an ice tray and shoved it into his mouth.

While trying not to kill himself from the coldness, he unbuttoned then re-buttoned his shirt properly. Frank spat out the ice into the bin and rushed into the main part of the M.I. High HQ. He froze, trying to remember when the M.I.9 tunnels were. Then his brain clicked and rushed into the tunnel, patting down his face to make sure there wasn't any sleep in his eyes or marks on his face.

He checked his watch again: 6:57am. Good, he would be just in time to make it to her office. His picked up the pace as he climbed the stairs to her office. Before he turned the last corner, he checked himself out in the glass doors to someone's office and smoothed down his suit. If it wasn't for the security cameras, he would've said something really embarrassing, but he stopped himself just in time and walked up to the door of Stella's office.

Frank took a deep breath and knocked calmly on her door. He waited, but no one answered. He knocked again, becoming confused. Why wasn't Stella answering? He didn't do anything to upset her, did he? He looked around him, glancing at the glass doors, agents holding clipboards and gadgets and wires run in along the soft carpet.

The senior agent scratched his head in confusion. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a brown-haired woman wearing a grey singlet under a dark blue blazer with a matching pencil skirt. Her hair was tied back into a neat ponytail and in her hand was a take-away coffee cup. Her make-up was done as it usually was: a layer of foundation with powder defining it, black mascara and bright, red lipstick. It was Stella, and she was… Late?

She walked up to Frank, who was completely bewildered. He saw something wave in front of his face. Then a snap broke him out of his thoughts. Stella raised an eyebrow at his odd behaviour.

"Frank? Frank, are you okay? You seem a bit… Out of it," Stella wondered. Frank shook his head, trying to break out of his daydream.

"Huh? Oh um, yeah yeah. I'm fine, everything's fine. It's just that… You're _late_!" Stella smirked and raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"Actually, I said 7 _ish_ not 7 exactly. You're getting old, Frank." Stella shook her head while she fiddled with the door handle. Frank stood behind her, gobsmacked.

Stella opened the door as walked inside, Frank following her. She took a seat behind her desk and placed her coffee in front of her computer, gesturing for Frank to have a seat in front of her. He pulled up a chair and made himself comfortable.

Stella pulled out a notepad and two pencils, giving one to Frank. She drew a cloud in the middle of the page and wrote 'Talent Show Prep' in the middle.

"Okay, so I thought we could just brainstorm some ideas and go from there," she suggested.

"Yeah, sounds great," Frank agreed. He drummed his pencil against the table, trying to think of some ideas.

"So… We should obviously start a venue," Stella said. Frank nodded his head and tried to rack his brain for some ideas.

"I know a friend who owns a small café, but it's about 2 hours from here. We could ask to rent out the place for a night," Frank suggested. Stella agreed and tried to think of some ways it could be organised.

"Yeah, and then we can have some judges, and all of the people that want to participate can put there name on a sheet of paper. Then the audience members can tip the act on stage by placing small amounts of money in a bucket or hat or something." Frank nodded and smiled at her. He wanted to spit out 'this is why I love you' but he knew the protocols, and he would be in serious consequences, especially because of the security cameras catching everything they talk about.

So he scribbled down some notes about the café while Stella wrote some down about the organising. By the time they were done with the plan, Frank had to head off to St. Hearts to start 'working' while Stella had a meeting to attend to.

"Okay, we're done. I've got to head off now or Mrs King will bite my head off," Frank said. Stella agreed and tidied up her desk.

"Yeah, I've got a meeting to attend to anyway. I'll see you later, Frank." Frank smiled back at her.

"Bye, Stella." Just as he was about to leave, Stella called out his name.

"And Frank?" He turned around in an instant.

"Yeah?"

"Next time you go to a meeting or something, make sure your pants are on the right way." Frank looked down and flushed in embarrassment. Stella smirked and waved goodbye as he rushed towards M.I. High HQ. Why couldn't she have told him sooner?

* * *

Frank checked his watch for the thousandth time: 3:54pm. What was keeping Stella? They both agreed to meet at the café at 3:45pm, but she hadn't turned up yet. Frank's decided that he may as well order a cup of coffee or something, so he walked up to the counter and ordered a latte. He walked over to a small, round table, pulled out a chair and plonked himself on it. He tapped his finger nail against the hardness of the table and waited patiently for Stella.

After a couple of minutes, a waitress brought him his latte. Frank thanked her, sipped a little bit of his coffee and placed it on the table. He looked around and took in his surroundings. It wasn't a busy café, but there were quite a few people scattered around either having a meal with other people at the round tables or just catching up with each other. Frank smiled and knew that this was one of the reasons that he loved saving the world everyday: he loved seeing people happy. And he wished he could've said the same for himself.

Soon enough, Stella walked through the door of the café, almost panting. Frank turned to see her and he almost burst it laughing. Loose strands of hair flew everywhere, her blazer and skirt were crumpled and sweat was running down her face. She immediately saw Frank and flopped onto the chair next to him.

"Are you okay?" Frank asked her. Stella held up her fore finger to him, indicating for him to wait.

"Yeah… I just… Hang on a second…" Frank chuckled. Stella was never this tired, so there must be a good reason for her to be late _and_ messy. Stella inhaled deeply and faced Frank, who was still biting his lip, trying not to laugh.

"I'm sorry, but Charlene gave me all of this paperwork to complete, and by the time I had finished, the railway was cancelled and all of the trains had stopped so I had to catch a bus and then run all the way here.," she explained. Frank shook his head.

"Stella, you could've called me. I would've brought you here." Stella sighed at how sweet he was being.

"I didn't want you drive two hours so you could pick me up and drive two hours back to the exact same place. It's okay, I'm fine now." Frank nodded his head slowly, not believing a word she was saying.

"Well, I've already talked to my friend, and he said it's cool to rent this place out two Fridays from now, so we've got about twenty days to get this place organised. Think we could manage?" Stella nodded and smiled; she loved how he did stuff like this. She soon shook that thought out of her head, not wanting to cloud her mind with personal matters.

"Okay, let's get started."

* * *

On the night of the fundraiser, everything was perfect. The café couldn't have been set up more beautifully. The stage was cleared except for a single microphone stand with a mic attached to the top and ribbons stuck to the sides. A stool was set aside for different acts. The curtains to the stage were drawn back, showing more of it.

In front of the stage, the small, white, round tables were scattered with four silver, metal chairs to each. Each table had a white tablecloth with a bouquet of pink roses sitting on the middle, looking as lively as ever. Fairy lights hung from the ceiling, making the whole café light up brightly. The floor had been swept, vacuumed and wiped clean so that you could see your own reflection. The windows had their white curtains drawn across them, matching the tables and keeping in the light.

A worker was all ready at the counter to take orders throughout the night. Another was at the entrance of the glass doors, waiting to open the doors. The entrance had a big, shiny sign spelling out 'Talent Show' on the front.

Frank stood in the middle of the café looking as relieved as ever. He wore a plain black shirt that buttoned up down the middle, his cleanest black trousers and black shiny shoes that sparkled like gold. He was anxious to see Stella and tell her how awesome everything turned out. That's what he kept telling himself anyway. The real reason was because he wanted to see what she was wearing. Gosh, she did look gorgeous in anything but he hadn't seen her off work for a while, so he was getting quite excited.

And there she was. Stella walked elegantly through the entrance doors, and boy did she look stunning. She wore a red and black flannel shirt that matched her complexion perfectly. Her light blue skinny jeans fitted her perfectly with her brown knee-high boots finishing off the look. Her usual tied-back dark brown hair was cascading down her back perfectly. Her golden hoop earrings could been seen in the darkest of nights and her usual consistency of make-up made her look irresistible in Frank's eyes.

Frank had to use all of his energy so his jaw wouldn't drop, or worse, faint. He almost didn't realise that she was walking over to him.

"Hey, Frank! Great turn out tonight! I'm so anxious to know how much money we're gonna raise!" Frank nodded his head slowly, only just processing what she was saying.

"Uh huh, yeah, great turn out…" Frank's eyes almost popped out of his skull. He had seen Stella in casual clothes before, but that was about twelve years ago, which is insane. But he had to calm down.

"So, do you wanna grab a drink?" By now, Frank had finally calmed down and he was back to normal. Well, back to _Frank_ normal anyway.

"Yeah sure, that would be great," Stella agreed.

Frank had a little surprise in store for Stella. He thought things were going back to normal, and that they could get along without the awkwardness of their romantic moments. He decided that this was the perfect opportunity to show her how he felt about her. Before she showed, he had hidden his guitar backstage because he was going to be performing in the talent show. He was extremely nervous, but the company of Stella was calming him down.

As soon as they had grabbed their drinks, they took the table closest to the stage: front and centre. Both of them sat side by side facing the stage so that they would have a clear view of all of the acts. A young man wearing a black tuxedo walked up to the stage and grabbed the microphone.

"Hey hey hey everybody! How are we all doing tonight?!" The crowd cheered, but not incredibly loudly.

"I said, HOW ARE WE ALL DOING TONIGHT?!" The crowed went wild and started to scream and shout. Both Frank and Stella looked at each with their ears blocked and laughed.

"That's more like it! Welcome to the PMH Fundraising Talent Show! I'll be your MC for the night, Luke Anderson. Let's get this party started! Please welcome to the stage, Penny and her Prancing Poodles!" The crowd cheered and laughed as they made their way up onto the stage when they saw how cute the poodles were.

As the night went by, the buckets were filling up with money and people were having a great time. Frank glanced over at Stella every once in a while, and he honestly hadn't seen her have this much fun in ages. He was glad that she was enjoying herself, because he definitely was too, especially with her as company. He couldn't wait for her reaction when he got up on the stage.

"Put your hands together, folks for the Tiana and her Tapping Toes! And now, the final act for the night. He's a pretty mean guitar player, and damn girls, watch out for that voice, because it's Frank London!" Stella didn't move, needless to say she was shell shocked. She hadn't heard him play in over ten years; when they were dating.

Frank stood up from his chair, smirking at Stella's reaction and made his way over to his guitar that was still hiding backstage. He slung the strap around his neck and made his way up onto the stage, sitting down on the stool and bringing the microphone closer to him.

"Thank you, Luke. Tonight I'm going to be playing a song that's very close to my heart at the moment. So I'm going to be singing 'Start Again' by Conrad Sewell." The crowd cheered. Frank saw Stella calming down from her shock and smiling directly at him.

Stella had heard Frank sing a few times before on his guitar: when they were dating years ago. He had only played for a joke, a laugh. He had never played seriously like this, but she was excited to hear him play. And not as a joke, but for real.

He strummed a few chords on his acoustic guitar and took a deep breath into the microphone.

 _Home time, I'm getting ready for a long night_

 _They say you never miss it till it's gone_

 _Well your gone, and I wish I'd done it better_

 _Mostly, I miss having you close to me_

 _The only one who really ever knows me_

 _And I'm sorry, I promise I'll do better, better_

Stella opened her ears and really listened to the lyrics. Somehow they affected her, and tears sprung to her eyes almost instantly. She saw that Frank made eye contact with her a few times throughout that verse, but she didn't know why.

 _There's a hole in the middle of my heart again_

 _Can we start again, can we start again?_

 _There's a hole in the middle and it never mends, it never mends_

 _Can we start again?_

 _Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh_

She felt… Connected, connected to the song. The words flowed out of his mouth powerfully, but gently. She loved how every note was hit perfectly and that he was singing like he meant it. And it definitely meant something. Was it meant for her?

 _Some nights, I kid myself I treated you right_

 _Lying to myself I didn't know_

 _If I'm honest, I could've done it better_

 _You said, we had it pretty much perfect_

 _And then you told me that you loved me_

 _But you're sorry, you needed something better_

At the sound of his words, Stella thought back to the KORPS assault. She didn't like it, but she couldn't get it out of her head. She thought of what she did to Frank after he made that decision. She knew it was the right one, but she couldn't take it anymore. Stella knew what she had to do, and ever since then she had regretted every single day. She regretted letting go the only man she had ever loved. Tears streamed down her face and Frank continued to strum his guitar and sing passionately.

 _There's a hole in the middle of my heart again_

 _Can we start again, can we start again?_

 _There's a whole in the middle and it never mends, it never mends_

 _Can we start again?_

 _Oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh oh-oh_

 _So I guess I'm gonna let you go_

 _But you get to keep a little bit of my soul_

 _So I guess I'm gonna write you out_

 _But I don't think I can do it to me right now_

 _Let's pretend, that time heals all_

And then it hit her, it hit Stella like a ton of bricks. Frank was singing to her. It all made sense. The constant eye contact, the powerful words, everything. Now she felt as guilty as ever. He wanted another shot, and so did she, but she getting too overwhelmed. She couldn't take this anymore.

 _There's a hole in the middle of my heart again_

 _But I'm not afraid, to start_

 _Again_

 _Start again, I'm gonna start again_

 _There's a hole in the middle and it never mends, it never mends_

 _But I've gotta try, to start again_

As soon as Frank had sung the last note, Stella stood up and weaved her way through the café so she could go outside. Frank stood up and bowed, but he looked worried when he saw Stella running away. He ignored the crowd's cheers and applaud, dropped his guitar on the stage and ran after her. This wasn't what he expected her to do.

He flung open the café doors to see Stella sitting against the café walls with her knees hugged to her chest. Her head was buried into her knees and Frank could hear the sobs she was making. He sat down next to her and started to rub his hand soothingly up and down her back.

"Stella," he spoke gently, "why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying." Frank knew that was the biggest fib in the entire world. He could hear cracking in her voice and her jeans were stained with tears.

"Yes you are, don't lie to me." Stella hated lying to him, but she couldn't help it. Whenever she felt vulnerable or ashamed, she denied everything.

"I'm sorry. It's just… That song. _You_ were singing to _me_. I can't help but feel vulnerable," she explained through her tears. Frank blushed as he continued to rub circles on her back with his hand. He started to feel emotional all over again. Actually, that's a lie; he'd been feeling emotional ever since he got up on that stage and strummed the first chord.

"Everything's going to be okay."

"But you were. You were singing to me, weren't you?" She lifted her head and turned it to her right so that her eyes were locked with his, and she loved how his eyes were full of emotion and that she could read every one.

"I was." It was as simple as that. He didn't have to say it, but he still loved her.

Frank still loved Stella.

And Stella still loved Frank.

Stella let more tears escape her eyes as Frank wiped them away with his thumb. An enormous amount of make-up came crashing down on her clothes, but he didn't care. In his eyes, she still looked beautiful.

Stella loved that Frank still did little things that mattered to her. She knew that he still loved her, because she did too.

She knew she might regret it, but she did it anyway. Stella grabbed his face and kissed him. It was passionate, but slow and full of love. That's what made it special.

As soon as Stella let go, she stood up as fast as lightning and looked down at Frank, at the man she loved. Her expressions flickered from worried to happiness to love-struck to angry. She looked away, and decided that the only thing she could do was run.

She ran into the darkness of the night, letting her boots scratch along the pavement as she did. Stella knew that she would regret her decision when she kissed Frank, but she didn't know it would affect her this much.

Behind her, still sitting alone on the cold pavement was Frank, agape and star-struck. He felt confused, angry, worried, upset but he also felt over the moon, ecstatic, love-struck. He didn't know what to do. He had just let go the only woman that he had ever loved, and wasn't doing anything about it. So he sat there and stared into nothingness. He tried to think about what would have happened if she hadn't run away, but he couldn't, because she had, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Stella took a glance behind her, but she had to get away. And if she knew what she left behind, she would've gone back. But she didn't,

And so she ran.


	2. EMERGENCY AUTHOR'S NOTE

**EMERGENCY AUTHOR'S NOTE**

 **Happy Birthday to me,**

 **Happy Birthday to me,**

 **Happy Birthday dear J.4.5.M.1.N.3,**

 **Happy Birthday to me!**

 **Hey guys! So today I'm officially 1 year old, and to celebrate, I'm leaving the website. So I hope you all enjoyed my last one-shot. Yes, I'm officially leaving the website. Sorry for shocking you all like this. I wanted to end this journey off on a high note with a one-shot that I tried really hard on. Please all understand that this past year has been amazing and getting views, reviews, favourites and follows as an author and on my stories are awesome, but this isn't for me anymore. Xoxhopiexox, Harry in the Hunger Games, Imagine-Hope123 (Hopie, Hannah, Rach) and I had a very serious discussion about the website. Hopie and Rach have already said that they're leaving, and now so I am. If you would like to adopt 'Rejection' or 'Life Changing' please let me know otherwise they will be discontinued. I know I shouldn't leave stories, but I can't help it. I'm sorry everyone but I need to explain why I'm leaving.**

 **First of all, I really need to focus on school. I'm not sure how tough the curriculum is in the UK, USA and other countries are but in Australia you have to take it really seriously to get into university. Uni is still a long way away for me, but I've got to keep all of my grades up or I might get into a whole heap of trouble with my teachers and parents. I'm not bragging, but I'm a gifted student, both academically and in music, and everyone expects very highly of me. If my grades slip, I'll get into massive trouble. FanFiction has been distracting me a lot from my homework and 99% of the time when my homework is incomplete, it's because I'm writing FanFiction. I hope you all understand.**

 **Also, as Hopie and Rachel have already mentioned, we are turning M.I. High into something it's not. Most of the stories include graphic deaths, sex, violence, alcohol, drugs in general, depression and anxiety , and many more nasty things that I can't think of right now. I don't want to influence any of your decisions because M.I. High is still one of my favourite TV shows ever, but we've turned the fandom into an 18+ environment, and not something little kids can read. What's the target audience for this show? 6-12 years old? Some of the missions on the actual TV show you'd need to be a teenager to understand it in its entirety, but that's the main target audience. If you're a teenager or adult on this site, please don't stop writing, but please make your stories more kid-friendly.**

 **I need to become closer to God. Sorry for springing the religious stuff on you guys, but if you don't know already or you haven't read some parts of my stories, I'm a Christian, and God is my life. Lately I've been rejecting him and not praising him as much. I really need to start doing that more, for mine and his sake. He loves us all** **, just remember that :)**

 **I will still be reading all of your stories but not reviewing as much as I used to or as thoroughly. So please, I'm not discouraging you to stop** **, but have a think. Have a think about what you're doing to the show, have a think about what you're doing to this fandom and have a think about what you're doing to influence young minds.**

 **Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and followed my stories. I know she's probably not going to see this, but thank you to XxcrhodesxX98 (something like that) for giving me the inspiration to start writing. You are honesty one of the best Frella authors ever.**

 **To this day – User Stats:**

 **21** authors have favourited me

 **18** authors put me on their alerted list

I've written **377** signed reviews (I know I've reviewed a lot more though as a guest)

I've written **77,740** words (not including the chapters in progress)

The average number of words per story is **7,774**

 **574** people have viewed my profile page

 **Story Stats:**

I've written **11** stories in total

I've written **7** one-shots

I've only completed **1** story

 **2** of my stories are in progress (they have now been put on hiatus unless anyone wants to adopt them)

 **1** of my stories has already been adopted (thanks authorlouise)

I've written **57** chapters in total

I've had **208** reviews in total

I've had **42** favourites in total

I've had **24** follows in total

 **These results have continued and will continue to grow in the future.**

 **Again, If anyone would like to adopt my stories, please PM me because this website still has my email. I'll send all of the documents you need for it.**

 **I'm not deleting any of my stories or my account because most of you have let me know that you enjoy them, and I'd hate to let a year's work just go down the drain.**

 **For the final time, thanks to everyone who has supported me and helped me through this journey, but now it has to come to an end. This has been an amazing year that I hope to never forget.**

 **Goodbye FanFiction, I'll never forget you.**

 **Signing out forever,**

 **Jasmine xoxo**


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